Blog of Rights
Chris
Hampton
02/20/2008

California Tragedy Highlights the Problem of Anti-Gay Harassment in Our Nation's Schools

By Chris Hampton, ACLU LGBT Project at 5:01pm
In spite of having some of the nation's toughest anti-harassment laws and policies, students in California, like those in many other states, still suffer from rampant anti-gay bullying and harassment. A painful reminder of this came from the town of Oxnard last week, when 15-year-old Larry King was shot and killed in school by a classmate who other students say had Read More»
11/18/2010
LGBT Bullying

Protecting LGBT Students Is a No-Brainer

By Chris Hampton, ACLU LGBT Project at 3:09pm

With so much recent news coverage on suicides of LGBT youth, those of us who work on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender safe schools issues have a lot on our plate. We're trying to figure out how best to respond to the needs of LGBT youth, as always. But we're also thinking about how to use the current media attention to these issues as a teachable moment to get the public to understand the importance of school anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies and laws that include gender identity and sexual orientation. Those topics and more were part of the discussion at last week's convening of the National Safe Schools Roundtable, a coalition of organizations that work to make schools safer for LGBT students, which I attended in Minneapolis on behalf of the ACLU LGBT Project.

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08/19/2010

Changing Hearts and Minds in the Grocery Store and the Church Parking Lot

By Chris Hampton, ACLU LGBT Project at 3:00pm

At the ACLU, we've long believed that real people's stories about their lives are the key to changing the minds of the public when it comes to full equality for same-sex couples. And some stories we've been hearing from some of the plaintiffs in Donaldson and Guggenheim v. Montana, a case we recently filed in Montana, really bear that out. The plaintiffs in this case want the right to protect their families with the same kind of legal protections that opposite-sex couples are offered through marriage. Because Montana has a constitutional amendment barring marriage for same-sex couples, the couples in the lawsuit are asking for state-recognized domestic partnerships, similar to those in place in several other states.

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11/03/2009

Why ENDA Matters: True Stories of Anti-LGBT Employment Discrimination from the ACLU

By Chris Hampton, ACLU LGBT Project at 10:45am

Why ENDA Matters: True Stories of Anti-LGBT Employment Discrimination from the ACLU

(This post originally appeared on The Bilerico Project.)

To illustrate why Congress must pass the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA), a federal law that would ban discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the workplace, we will be posting the firsthand accounts of people from across the nation who have been fired, refused a job, or harassed in the workplace because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This summer the ACLU put out a call for stories, and these are just a fraction of stories we received.

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09/14/2009

Schooling Schools on LGBT Student Rights

By Chris Hampton, ACLU LGBT Project at 12:22pm

As students across America return to classes, we at the ACLU are preparing to help with yet another school year of defending LGBT students from censorship, harassment, attempts to block them from forming Gay-Straight Alliance clubs, and other types of discrimination. While nobody loves doing homework, LGBT students might find it’s pretty useful to do a bit of research about what their legal rights are in school and how they can stand up for themselves. To help with that, we have lots of information available online.

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05/19/2009

Taking On Web Censorship in Tennessee Schools

By Chris Hampton, ACLU LGBT Project at 5:31pm

You may recall last month when the ACLU First Amendment Working Group, the ACLU LGBT Project, and the ACLU of Tennessee first started schooling some school districts in Tennessee for using web filtering software that illegally blocked dozens of LGBT rights nonprofits and other informational sites — while so-called "reparative therapy" (pray away the gay!) websites were wide open to student surfing.

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10/15/2008

Trial Ends in Challenge to Florida Anti-Gay Adoption Ban

By Chris Hampton, ACLU LGBT Project at 2:21pm

The LGBT Project and the ACLU of Florida recently completed a trial in juvenile court in Miami challenging a Florida law that bars lesbians and gay men from adopting in the state. The ACLU is representing a gay man, Martin Gill, who, along with his partner of eight years, has been raising two foster children. The ACLU is asking the court to declare the Florida ban unconstitutional and allow our client to adopt the two brothers that the couple have been raising for the past four years.

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08/11/2008

"Abstinence-only" Education Not a Free Pass for Anti-Gay Discrimination

By Chris Hampton, ACLU LGBT Project at 3:19pm

A recent Florida federal court decision in an ACLU case did a lot more than simply make advocates for both reproductive freedom and for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights very happy: It signaled that the days when folks could get away with making outlandish anti-LGBT arguments are going, going, and almost gone.

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09/28/2011

"Don't Filter Me" at Six Months

By Chris Hampton, ACLU LGBT Project & Joshua Block, LGBT Project at 6:00pm

Last February, the ACLU LGBT Project launched the "Don't Filter Me" campaign to take on the problem of public schools censoring LGBT-friendly content on the web. Today — which just happens to also be Banned Websites Awareness Day — we released a report describing the enormous progress we have made in a little over six months. The "Don't Filter Me" campaign has been responsible for instituting major changes in school policy nationwide, and has influenced major web software filtering companies to change their products so that they do not block positive LGBT materials.

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10/19/2009

Why ENDA Matters: True Stories of Anti-LGBT Employment Discrimination from the ACLU

By Chris Hampton, ACLU LGBT Project at 11:05am

(Also posted at The Bilerico Project and Get Busy, Get Equal)

To illustrate why Congress must pass the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA), a federal law that would ban discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the workplace, we will be posting the firsthand accounts of people from across the nation who have been fired, refused a job, or harassed in the workplace because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This summer the ACLU put out a call for stories, and these are just a fraction of stories we received.

Laura J. Doty, Boise, Idaho
I was hired in April 1997 as an adult probation officer in Power County, Idaho. I was closeted except for my direct supervisor, who had no problem with my sexuality. It was a professional environment, and my peer reviews indicated I was respected and did a good job. I liked being able to help people overcome difficulties and improve themselves. I had letters of recommendation from the prosecuting attorney, a letter of recommendation from my direct supervisor, and positive reviews from a judge and the public defender.

In September of 1997, I ran into a co-worker from the county building at a store and introduced my partner to her. Two days later, the Power County Commissioners called me in and told me I was unhappy at work and I could quit or be fired. I said they would have to fire me.

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